Inside the UK’s Largest Benefit Fraud: The Antonia Food Scandal
In the bustling neighbourhood of north London stood Antonia Food, an unremarkable shop with a typical display of fruits and vegetables outside and a variety of groceries, chocolates, and alcohol inside. Behind the counter was Galina Nikolova, a bottle-blonde Bulgarian known for her striking eyebrows. However, Nikolova was far from an ordinary shop worker. She was one of the key figures behind the UK’s largest benefit fraud, a scheme that ultimately defrauded the taxpayer of millions.
When authorities raided Nikolova’s property, they uncovered £750,000 in cash stashed in various locations, including under a bed, behind a fridge, and inside suitcases. Carolann Mongan, the benefits official leading the investigation, expressed astonishment at the scale of the seizure. “To seize that much money in one day is unheard of,” she said. Mongan and her team had spent two years investigating the organized gang, which was masterminded by Nikolova and another Bulgarian, Gyunesh Ali.
Gyunesh Ali and Galina Nikolova plotted a £53.9m fraud from the back room of a shop and a suburban office
The fraud amounted to £53.9 million in false claims. On Thursday, Wood Green Crown Court sentenced two gang members to what are believed to be the longest sentences ever for benefit fraud. Nikolova, 39, responsible for £25 million in taxpayer losses, received an eight-year prison sentence. Four other gang members received sentences ranging from three to seven years.
The fraudulent operation began with the transportation of thousands of Bulgarians to London, often at the gang’s expense, to file claims for Universal Credit. The gang used these individuals’ identities to initiate claims, supplementing them with fake tenancy agreements, employment records, GP letters, and evidence of children. The initial benefit payments were partially given to the claimants, but the recurring monthly payments were withdrawn by the gang from hundreds of bank accounts.
The fraudulent activities started in October 2016, before Brexit altered the rules on EU citizens claiming benefits. By exploiting these rules, the gang managed to siphon off millions. Ali, initially a carpenter, reinvented himself as an accounting expert and began a company called Deluxe Advisors. In social media videos, Ali promoted his services to those with settled or pre-settled status in the UK, inviting them to contact him for assistance while he was secretly orchestrating a massive fraud.
In 2018, Nikolova split from Ali, taking with her the knowledge she had gained about defrauding the welfare system. She continued the fraudulent activities from a back room in Antonia Food, with the help of Patritsia Paneva, another Bulgarian she had recruited.
The investigation broke open when officials noticed patterns in the benefit applications, such as multiple claims linked to the same address or phone number. The pandemic exacerbated the situation, with the relaxation of benefit rules and suspension of face-to-face checks leading to a surge in fraudulent claims. Between March and June 2020, the number of people on Universal Credit nearly doubled, with fraud accounting for £10.2 billion in losses over two years.
In May 2021, a raid by the Metropolitan Police and DWP investigators on Deluxe Advisors and other locations uncovered a trove of evidence, including computers, filing cabinets, low-tech mobile phones, and thousands of SIM cards. Investigators found spreadsheets detailing thousands of fraudulent claims.
Luxury items were seized from Nikolova’s property, including designer shoes, a Versace watch, and an Audi car. The gang’s meticulous records made the investigators’ job easier. Ali, however, managed to flee to Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Despite an initial rejection, a higher court eventually approved his extradition, and he was returned to the UK in February 2023. Another gang member, Tsvetka Todorova, was caught attempting to flee at Stansted Airport, and Nikolova was arrested for trying to obtain a new Bulgarian passport under false pretenses.
Over a 13-month period, the gang members pleaded guilty to benefit fraud. Ali received a seven-year, three-month sentence, Stoyan Stoyanov was sentenced to four years, and Todorova received a three-year sentence but was due to be released due to time served. Paneva, who was 19 when recruited and paid £80 a day, was sentenced to three years and two months.
The gang is estimated to have claimed around £100 million in Universal Credit over nearly five years. The Crown Prosecution Service plans to pursue further legal action to recover as much of the stolen money as possible, including funds believed to have been transferred to Bulgaria.
